Taking you away
by IThoughtTheEarthMoved
Summary: Tony. Ziva. Italy. When Ziva is hurting after her fathers death, Tony takes it upon himself to see her happy again. May involve eloping of some sort, but not quite. Its complicated, read to find out! :D


**A/N**: Slight spoilers for shabbat shalom, just for this chapter. Hope you enjoy it! Wanring: Im not a good writer, so no harsh reviews please

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, unless…I marry like Donald Bellisarius or something but he's old enough to be my great great great great grandfather sooo

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She doesn't smile a lot anymore, not like she used to. Sometimes she throws him one but he knows she's just masking her emotions, he knows what she's really feeling inside. She told him she's "fine" but really, is he supposed to believe that? She just had to bury her own father, he _knows _she's not okay. And he feels useless not being able to help her. He wants to, he really does. And he has, in a way; letting her stay at his place, letting her know that he's here for her. But he doesn't think its enough. It's been one month, surely he didn't expect to her to fully recover from loosing the last of her family, but he also didn't expect her to put back up all the walls she had let down over the past year. And he doesn't like it; not knowing what's going on with her, not being able to read her as well as he used to.

He sighed to himself, finishing up some paperwork he had overdue. All he had to do was proof read the thing, and right now he didn't even want to do that. Ziva would make him go insane one day, if he hasn't already. And he doesn't mind. really. He's just worried. Ziva's never been this…..distant. It's not normal for her to act this way, not normal at all. Not since the bombing, not since they let each other into their past.

He watches as she gets up from her desk and heads into the women's restroom.

_Aha. _He has his chance with her alone now.

Slowly he got up, carefully scanning the room for any sign of Gibbs before he heads to the door she just entered. Stopping short of turning the door handle, he took a deep breath. He hopes he doesn't screw this up, he just wants to help her. But she's Ziva and she's not particularly fond of getting help. But oh well, here goes nothing.

Stepping in and locking the door, he turns to find her staring at him, with the same look she had in the bullpen.

"You were expecting me," Tony stated, coming to stand next to her by the sink.

She folded her arms,"Well your eyes have not left me for the entire day, or for this week, actually. Clearly something is bothering you."

He mentally smacked himself for being that obvious. But then again, he doesn't really care. She's hurting right now, and he needs to fix it, or at least try. Because the one thing you needed to know about Tony and Ziva, was that when one of them was hurting, the other was hurting. They were like a chain reaction, being affected by simplest of things that happened in their lives.

"TONY," he was brought out of his thoughts by a slightly agitated Ziva. Only then did he realize that he's been staring at her for over a minute and not saying a word.

"You are staring again. Is there something wrong, Tony?" she asked, the nervous look in her eyes disappearing, only to be filled with curiousity.

"Ha," he chuckled incredulously, " It's funny how you're the one asking me when really, I should be the one questioning you."

She sighed, knowing that she can't just throw him a simple "I am fine" and expect him to just leave her alone. That's not the way they work anymore, and she does admit it, she needs help. Even if it's just a hug.

She lets out a shaky breath and leans against the wall. "It has been hard, Tony. I lost my father, and…I know he wasn't the best of fathers, but I still loved him. He grew me up, and thought me so many things. He is gone now, they're all gone." That last part she said just above a whisper.

He doesn't need to be Einstein to know that she's talking about the rest of her family. And he finally understands why she's been like this for the past month. She isn't crushed because her father is dead. She's crushed because _everyone _is dead, and she's alone now. Or so she thinks.

His face completely softens at this realization, and he steps closer, leaning against the wall with her.

"You know that you're not alone, right Ziva?" he asks, his gaze fixated on her.

She bits the inside of her cheek almost contemplatively but replies with a soft smile, "I do, but I meant blood family. They are all gone, and I am the only one that is alive. Definitely not how I pictured it."

"How _did_ you picture it?"

"Certainly not being alive at this age, or even reaching 25 for that matter.." her gaze shifting to the door, thinking about all the times she almost lost her life in mossad. Times she wished would be permanently erased from her memory.

"Hey," he called out, motioning for her to look at him,"All of that is a part of your past, Ziva, and maybe it should stay there. You were a different person then than you are now. You're here now , alive, and thats all that matters, right?"

She nods quickly, "Yes but-"

"No buts," he cuts her off immediately before she can say something stupid, "I told you, your past is your past, and even though it affects who you are now, it doesn't become you. You get over it, and sometimes you can't do it by yourself. You have your family here, Zi. Gibbs, Mcgoo, Abby, Ducky, autopsy gremlin….and me" he said the last part just above a whisper, shifting a little closer to her.

Her eyes wells up at this, because even though she knew it was true all along, sometimes she needs reminding. And she doesn't know why she feels to cry, maybe its just everything that has happened lately, maybe its because she's in that time of the month. She tries to blink back tears but fails as one slips down her cheek.

Wiping it away with his thumb, he gathers her into his arms, holding her close. Whispering comforting things into her hair while she sobbed into his shirt.

She tries to cry out everything. Her father's death, Tali's death, Ari's death and her mother's death. She knows its silly, but she doesn't care. She just cries. Cries because after everything, Tony is always there for her. To make her laugh even though she may have the urge to shoot him, to do the most special things that just flutter her heart, but most importantly there for her when she needs him the most. She doesn't know what she did to deserve a friend like him, but she treasures it because he's most special to her, and someday, she'll let him know that.

She sniffles and eventually lets go of his embrace, only to wipe her cheeks with her sleeve.

"Thank you, Tony" she whispers, placing a palm on his cheek and pressing her lips against his other cheek. Just like she did 3 years ago. Pulling away, she says "I mean it, thank you" and with that she left him there, stunned as ever, reveling in the feel of her lips against his skin.

He knows she feels better, but he knows she isn't fully well yet. And he knows its his job to fix it. He just needs to know how, but for now, he'll just cherish the fact that finally, he got her smiling again.

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End of first chapter, but I made this so I can be a stand alone. There are better things to come people, I promise ;) This is an introduction, of some sorts. Anyway, please leave a review, telling me if to continue or not :P thanks for reading!


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